Reviews with content warning for Cursing - Graveyard Shift

TW: Graphic animal death, rats, insomnia, laboratory animal testing. Moderate alcohol, body horror, cursing, death, injury detail, violence. Minor medical content, sexual content.

Context: I do not read horror.

Ms Rio’s characters are well developed for such a short book. They are also quite relatable and I enjoyed spending time with all of them. Even Hannah, though I may not want to be alone with her. The horror aspect of the book was enough to get a lightweight wondering what’s going on in the biology department of the nearby uni, but not so much as to give them nightmares. In other words I enjoyed I quite a lot.

The ending has me hoping there will be a sequel. And I will check out If We Were Villains.

Content Warnings

emilywemily6's review against another edition

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mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.25

I was kind of let down by this novella. This story felt more atmospheric and a little creepy, with a single sprinkle of horror. I wanted more horror! The plot also didn’t move very much in this story, and we get a big reveal halfway through the book and don’t really get anything else. I liked the open ending. The characters are all really distinct, which I think the author did a good job demonstrating, but this story is so short that I feel like just a little longer could have added more to the plot and horror elements. I need more spooky vibes and grotesque horror to keep me going, especially in a novella. The basis of the plot reminded me a lot of What Moves the Dead, and since this book didn’t give me a lot plotwise, it’s hard not to compare them and see what this story lacked. But again, beautiful writing and well written characters that made this an intriguing read.

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brep23's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

A great concept and a really fun and interesting ensemble cast, but I can't help but feel like it cut off and ended sort of abruptly.

I do think it's pretty remarkable that Rio was able to give five characters a pretty satisfactory arc within 100 pages. I did want more time with each of them, but I think that's more a symptom of the novella format than my issues with the plot pacing.

Content Warnings

readwithsophsx's review against another edition

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dark mysterious sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

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